


The Fall of L'Manburg

by Katisdead123456



Series: The Rise and Fall of L'Manburg [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Multi, Post-Manberg Festival on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Retelling of Dream SMP, Sad, War, literally Just the plot of all the streams, post-L'Manburg doomsday
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:09:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28924107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katisdead123456/pseuds/Katisdead123456
Summary: I heard there was a special placeWhere men can go and emancipateThe brutality and the tyranny of their rulersWell, this place is real, you needn’t fret, with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Fuck EretIt’s a very big and blown-up L’ManburgMy L’ManburgMy L’ManburgMy L’Manburg
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Niki | Nihachu/Wilbur Soot
Series: The Rise and Fall of L'Manburg [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121069
Kudos: 9





	1. Calm Yourself. Here, Have Some Blue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally releasing season two! I'm sorry this took a while, and that I am extremely behind on the plot, but I hope you still enjoy this. I like it a lot more than what I wrote for the first season. I add in a lot of my own headcanons and my own perceptions of the characters (this is a Tommy-apologist safe zone).

After the events of the war, Tubbo was left as the president of a crater. To help rebuild L’Manburg back to its former glory, he elected Tommy as the  Vice President, Quackity as the secretary of state, and Fundy as the head of the treasury department. Together, they reassured Wilbur it was okay for him to join them again, and he happily tagged along to help them. His pale face and cold skin were still quite jarring to them, but they eventually got used to it and his strange new habits. He frequently handed people loads of blue dye and lapis lazuli, which they began to accept as a present of sorts. Instead of helping with the reconstruction, he chose to mess around with his friends, breaking blocks and setting small fires. This annoyed them at first, but they let him have his fun. He deserved it. They lovingly gave him the nickname,  _ Ghostbur. _

Tubbo ordered wanted signs of Technoblade, who had gone into hiding somewhere, to be spread. He still had scars and walked with a slight limp from the time he killed him. 

Quackity and Fundy made a plan to find a pig and hang it in Techno’s home, along with scattering pork chops and bacon all around. There were two problems, 1, they couldn’t find a pig, and 2, they had no idea where Techno had runoff. They went to Tubbo for help. It was a plan that Tubbo would have jumped to join before, but he looked to men in the eyes and told them their idea was immature and stupid and that it wouldn’t solve any of their problems. Tubbo didn’t want any form of violence. Quackity and Fundy were caught off guard by the president’s stern tone, but they brushed it off, thinking he was just in a bad mood that day. 

Tommy was still in denial that Wilbur would have pressed the button, that he would destroy everything he had worked for. He blamed everything on Techno. When people tried to tell him that Wilbur was involved, he ignored them. There was no way that Wilbur, Tommy’s older brother, and mentor, would betray him like that. To distract himself, he became the landlord for a new L’Manburg citizen, Connor. It was mostly just to mess with him and assert his dominance, though. Tommy hated new people. He evicted him and made him move to a new house every few days. 


	2. Ghosts Deserve Rights Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Phil, I was gonna ask, how bad was I? How awful of a person was I? This isn’t a normal thing that happens. Sons don’t just disown their fathers when they die. They don’t go out looking for a new one, so I was wondering, how dreadful was I?”
> 
> Phil stood looking at Wilbur for a second. He didn’t know what to say. “Will,” He finally spoke, “for a good portion of your life, you were the best dad. You were great.” A sense of relief washed over Wilbur when he heard Phil say those words. “But...” Wilbur’s body tensed again, “at some point, you took a turn, and... things got messy...”
> 
> Wilbur stifled back tears. “I’m not-- I’m not upset, I was just wondering.”
> 
> “You really don’t remember?”

Weeks passed, and Wilbur’s memory was still fragmented. He scurried around the construction sights of L’Manburg, trying to find clues as to why people glared at him as he walked past; why his son refused to talk to him; why there were craters in the ground; why he was a ghost.

Ghostbur gathered a collection of books written throughout the history of L’Manburg with the hopes it would help him remember something. Tommy had filled most of the books with useless, funny information, so it wasn’t much help. One of the books was titled  _ How to Sex _ , which no one was allowed to read. He knew that if he were alive, he would probably be able to remember, but he didn’t think anyone would want to go through the trouble of reviving him. Instead, he made stacks of weakness potions and golden apples, the ingredients to cure a zombie villager, with the hopes someone would one day put two and two together and make him the cure. While he waited for that day to come, he asked all his old friends what he’d done. He found out he was responsible for the craters and that he’d become a bad person when he was alive, but no one would tell him the full story. They knew it would destroy him.

One day when he was wandering about, he saw Tubbo and Phil discussing something. He shot an arrow at the bell next to them to get their attention. They couldn’t see who shot the arrow, so they just continued constructing the new L’Manburg stage with an escape route for a worst-case-scenario. They had learned from past mistakes.

Wilbur, feeling defeated, ran off and found himself in a strange room behind the stage. Most of it was destroyed, but there were still bits of walls with writing scribbled on them. He had a cold feeling rush through him, and he quickly ran out. He refused to deal with anything that brought him that cold feeling.

Phil started to feel bad for his son. He hadn’t had a real conversation with him since he killed him. He wasn’t even sure if he remembered that, and if he did, he probably wouldn’t want to talk to him.

He made a music station for his son and hunted him down so he could bring him to it. It was hard to find him since he was invisible most of the time, but he finally found a floating potato and handed Wilbur a glass of milk so the potion would wear off. 

Wilbur warmed up when he saw the note blocks and began strumming them with child-like excitement, occasionally looking up at his father to see if he was impressed. He was. When Wilbur was done playing, he dragged Phil over to his new, small house in the sewers and showed him his book collection, mostly picking out the funny ones. He still hadn’t read the ones that might help him retrieve his memory.

Fundy sat with his feet dangling over the dock where he always wished his father would take him fishing as the sun set over the horizon. He stared at the salmon swimming about and made patterns in the water with his feet. 

Tubbo had asked him earlier why he was so angry. He was mad because Wilbur left him when he needed him. He needed him to be his dad, not the father of a young nation. 

Now that Fundy was an orphan, he needed someone to adopt him. Eret, now a citizen of L’Manburg, offered, and they prepared the paperwork for his only living relative, Phil, to sign.

Wilbur, unbeknownst that his son was soon to be adopted went out looking for him. After his day with Phil, he was inspired to try and be a better father finally. He handed him all the things that he had lost during the battle, which he had collected. He had been gathering up the courage to give them to him. 

Fundy was touched, but Wilbur giving him his things back wasn’t enough for him to forgive his father. He mentioned that he was being adopted, and Wilbur stopped in his tracks. 

“Adopted?” He asked innocently, “Like into a society?”

“Well, uh,” Fundy tried to find a way to break the news to his father gently. “The other day, Eret and I were talking, and you-- you remember Eret, right?”

“Yeah, we don’t like Eret. It’s in the song.” He smiled even though he felt his bones starting to chatter. “We hate Eret.”

“Riiight.” Fundy guessed Wilbur didn’t remember Eret’s redemption, but he knew he couldn’t explain it to him without telling him everything else that happened. “Well, he may or may not have offered to adopt me, since, y’know, I’m an orphan now, and now we’re waiting on Phil to sign the papers.”

The slight chattering turned into a full-on shiver. “Um, it was nice catching up, Fundy. We haven’t really talked in a while, um, I gotta-- I gotta go now.” He ran away with a tight feeling forming in his chest, and he started finding it hard to breathe. He felt like he needed to punch something. If only he hadn’t done whatever the fuck he did when he was alive, and he would still have his son, the light of his life. 

Wilbur ran about, trying to find his father. 

“Hey Phil,” He said when he finally found him sitting in his home. “I just spoke to Fundy, and I gave him his stuff.”

“Awww.” Phil was happy his son and grandson may finally be together again.

“Yeah, um, did he- did he give you any papers to sign?” 

“Uhhhh, he may, ummmm...” Phil stammered. “He may want a dad... he would like a dad.” He looked at his son, apologetically.

Wilbur felt a pang in his chest. Wasn’t he Fundy’s dad? “Okay.” He tried his best to hide the pain in his voice. “Phil, I was gonna ask, how bad was I? How awful of a person was I? This isn’t a normal thing that happens. Sons don’t just disown their fathers when they die. They don’t go out looking for a new one, so I was wondering, how dreadful was I?”

Phil stood looking at Wilbur for a second. He didn’t know what to say. “Will,” He finally spoke, “for a good portion of your life, you were the best dad. You were great.” A sense of relief washed over Wilbur when he heard Phil say those words. “But...” Wilbur’s body tensed again, “at some point, you took a turn, and... things got messy...”

Wilbur stifled back tears. “I’m not-- I’m not upset, I was just wondering.”

“You really don’t remember?”

“I-- no. I remember little bits. I’ve figured it out. I remember the things that made me happy. I seem to have blocked the sad bits. Like that guy Schlatt, apparently, he was a really bad guy. Apparently, he did bad things to me, but I don’t... I don’t remember him.”

Phil nodded.

“Phil, I’m gonna let you get back to whatever you were doing... I’m gonna go...” 

“I’m glad you remember me, son,” Phil said before his son could leave.

“Yeah... yeah, I do. I remember you stabbed me. I don’t know why, but I do know you’re sorta a hero for it...” Wilbur turned to leave before Phil could say anything else.

Phil sat and thought for a bit. Wilbur said he only remembered the happy things, so then why does he remember Phil killing him? Then it hit him, Wilbur wanted to die. He was glad that Phil killed him. Phil felt his heart shatter at this realization. 

Ghostbur found himself walking down a railroad, kicking the rocks beneath his feet as he did. At the end of the railroad, he found himself in a cave. He paused for a moment as he felt the cold feeling wash over him again. He didn’t run away this time. He walked down the steps to a ravine covered top to bottom in buttons. He walked around the ravine and found a fox sitting patiently and an empty potato farm. He had a vague memory, almost like a fever dream, of the events that went down in that ravine. 

“Fundy needs a dad,” He whispered to himself, “and I need to make up for what I did.” 


	3. I Wonder How Barry Scott is Doing These Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop him, and I saw everybody distraught and depressed about how all their hard work had gotten blown up, so I took it upon myself to-”
> 
> “Hey, guys!” Tubbo interrupted, “Do you know what I’m referencing when I say BANG, and the dirt is gone!” Phil and Fundy silently turned their heads to Tubbo sitting in the corner munching on a bowl of chips. “Guys? Do you guys know Barry Scott? Barry Scott from Cillit Bang? Guys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last Ghostbur-centered chapter, I promise.  
> The first scene is very much inspired by a Jack Stauber video called Library, so check that out if you would like :)

Ghostbur dreamt he was in some sort of van. Brewing stands lined the walls, and the sun’s rays made patterns on the floor through the windows. In front of him stood two blonde-haired boys, one much shorter than the other, and a girl with black hair with two blonde streaks in the front. Their faces morphed like clay every few seconds into hideous scrambles of features. 

The Ghost looked down to his warm hands full of color, and he was wearing some sort of revolutionary suit. His head pounded as he tried to remember where he had worn it before.

“What- where am I? Who are you?” 

The girl reached for his hand, and they were suddenly standing at the bottom of a ravine, lanterns hanging down from the ceiling. Instead of the revolutionary suit, he had a brown trench coat and muddied boots. “You need to remember,” she said in a soft voice, but Ghostbur couldn’t discern any sort of mouth on her ever-changing face no matter how long he stared. 

“Wilbur! You need to remember!” The tall boy snapped. He turned to the other boy standing next to him. “What’s wrong with this guy?” 

“Remember what?” he felt a tear run down his cheek. “I don’t understand...”

“I think he’s dying,” the shorter boy said, and for a second, each of their faces aligned to ones he vaguely recognized, but they morphed back into scrambled before their names could come to mind. 

The ghost tried to step forward, but he tripped over the air. When he landed on his knees, he looked up to see that the faceless figures were gone. Instead, he saw his frowning father standing over him. They were in a small room with scribbles over the walls and a button in the middle. Every time Ghostbur’s eyes focused on the words, they changed like the three figure’s faces.

“Dad..?”

“I’m sorry, son.” Phil suddenly drew out a diamond sword and charged at the man huddled on the floor, but before the blade could touch him, Ghostbur shot out of bed with a stabbing pain in his chest. He’d had dreams just like that every night ever since the explosion. He couldn’t usually remember the contents of them, just that they made him cold and scared.

Before he left his room, he painted a smile on his pale face. He didn’t want anyone to worry about him more than they already did.

Ghostbur’s memory had gotten worse. Not only could he not remember what happened months or even weeks ago, but he also couldn’t even remember what happened the day before. He still tried to stay as positive as possible; he was in too weak of a state to think about anything remotely sad. He didn’t even remember that his son was getting adopted that day.

Fundy and Tubbo sat with Phil in his home, where they waited for hours for Eret to come and sign the adoption papers. As they waited, they asked Phil about the details of how Wilbur died. 

“Did you enjoy it, Phil?” Tubbo asked. 

“No.” He responded plainly.

“Tubbo!” Fundy scolded.

“Sorry!”

“Basically,” Phil continued, “I saw him leaving everybody to go do something while they were all celebrating Tubbo’s presidency, and I saw him walk into a room with a button. I knew what that room was, and I’m sure you do too Fundy.”

“I know... I know.”

“I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop him, and I saw everybody distraught and depressed about how all their hard work had gotten blown up, so I took it upon myself to-”

“Hey, guys!” Tubbo interrupted, “Do you know what I’m referencing when I say  _ BANG, and the dirt is gone! _ ” Phil and Fundy silently turned their heads to Tubbo sitting in the corner munching on a bowl of chips. “Guys? Do you guys know Barry Scott? Barry Scott from Cillit Bang? Guys?”

Fundy turned back to his grandfather. “What were his last words?”

“Barry Scott says  _ Bang, and the dirt is gone. _ ” Tubbo interrupted again.

Phil ignored Tubbo. “He said,  _ Do it, Phil, kill me. _ ”

“Was it quick?”

“I mean, Cillit Bang is really quick! Have you seen that thing clean stuff?”

Before Fundy and Phil could tell him to shut up, an invisible Ghostbur, snuck in and placed a sign down that said  _ Boo!  _ and quickly ran out. 

“Are you kidding me?!” Fundy yelled. “He’s trying to scare me! He thinks this is a joke!” 

As he tried to run after the ghost, Tubbo turned to Phil.

“I wonder how Barry Scott is these days. I wonder how Cillit Bange sales are these days.” Phil just shook his head in disbelief. 

“I’m so done with this guy. I’m so done.” The fox muttered as he stepped back inside.

“Ghostbur or Tubbo?”

“Both!”

“Yeah, I feel like I’m failing to read the room here. Fundy, do you have Cillit Bang?”

“Tubbo,” Fundy answered, “I really need you to shut up.”

Ghostbur, still invisible, suddenly opened the door and started climbing up the second-floor ladder.

“We’re being haunted...” Fundy was done with all the bullshit. He’d accepted that Eret probably wasn’t gonna show up and that he would still be left fatherless. He was old enough to care for himself, of course, but he just wanted a father figure in his life, someone to give him advice and care for him, someone to be the grandfather to his future children.

“Do you need a Ghostbuster?” Tubbo asked innocently.

As Fundy went off on an angry tangent, Tubbo pulled out his phone and started playing the Ghostbusters theme music. Phil handed his grandson a fishing rod and led him out the door, leaving Tubbo to dance to the music by himself.

Ghosbur saw Fundy and Phil fishing at the docks. Sure, Ghostbur was there, but Fundy couldn’t fish with him; he couldn’t do anything with him. Fundy didn’t feel like talking to him, but Phil convinced him it would be good. 

“I came to say hi!” Ghostbur said excitedly. “How’s it going?”

“I’m teaching Fundy how to fish,” Phil replied in a much less enthusiastic tone. “He always wanted to go fishing with his dad.”

“Why do you sound so sullen and melancholy?”

“Because you’re dead,” Fundy answered in a cold tone. 

Ghostbur chuckled. “I’ve been dead for quite a while now. I just wanted to see what you two were up to. We have spoken in a long time. The last time I spoke to you was...” his head started to pound while he tried to remember. 

“When? When was that?”

“Um... when I announced I was running for president and you said you were running too,” he smiled as he recalled the fond memory, “I was so proud of you that day, I remember..”

Fundy shook his head. “That was the last good time we spoke.” 

The Ghost paused for a second; he felt that things were getting serious and tried to change the subject. “Did you guys enjoy me booing you? I booed you and made you guys jump!”

“You didn’t make us jump, Will; you interrupted us while we were having a proper chat!”

“Aw, lighten up, Fundy.  _ Boo _ !  _ Boo _ !” Ghostbur made himself laugh. “C’mon Fundy, say it! Say,  _ boo _ !”

The fox crossed his arms. “I’m not gonna say it, Will.”

“Aw, c’mon.  _ Boo _ !” Wilbur stepped toward his son. “My little champion!  _ Boo _ !”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why don’t you want to be my little champion?” Ghostbur teased.

Fundy turned and stormed back to Phil’s house, where he threw the fishing rod onto the floor and flopped onto his bed. 

Ghostbur turned to his father. “He’s only fourteen. He’s going through a bit of a rebellious phase, isn’t he?” 

Phil furrowed his brows at him. Fundy was not fourteen, but he didn’t have the heart to correct him. “He was always annoyed when you called him that.”

“But he’ll always be my little champion. Even when he’s old and has a family of his own, he’ll always be my little guy.”

Ghostbur led his father to his house in the sewers, where they started brewing more potions together. Fundy overheard them from next door and decided to walk over to see what they were up to. 

Ghostbur turned around. “Oh, it’s my son! Hello!” He gave him a warm smile that wasn’t returned.

“Will?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to actually talk.”

Ghosbur’s smile faded. “Whenever people say that to me, they always tell me bad things, and I forget them.” He turned back to his brewing stand. “Oh! My potions are done!”

“Will! Listen!” Fundy snapped, and Ghostbur cautiously turned back around to face him. “Do you even know what’s wrong?! Does it even break through to you?!” His father turned his attention back to his potions, but Fundy continued yelling at him. “Every time something serious comes, you evade it! You avoid everything. You run away from every serious consequence of your actions! You just smile through everything! You think nothing is going on. You think everything is fine! It’s not! You were there for me for a very long time, and then when I need you the most, you skedaddled the fuck out of my life and died!”

“I-”

“Because of what? Because of L’Manburg’s causes? Was that more important to you than your son?”

Ghostbur stared at the floor and tried to stifle his tears. “I don’t remember doing any of those things...”

“Will, do you want to know what happened after our last good talk? That wasn’t the last time we spoke, Will.”

“If I don’t remember, then it probably wasn’t worth remembering...”

“You don’t mean that.”

Ghostbur tried to change the subject again. “Let’s go fishing! Fishing is fun! Do you wanna cook some potions? Isn’t that what L’Manburg was started on? Making drugs in a van! I remember that. We were with Tommy! He's a child. We would bully him for that! Do you remember?” 

Fundy nodded.

“I tell you what,” Ghostbur continued. “I’d love to chat, I’m sure there are many terrible things I did that you would love to tell me about, but I have to go.” He drank one of his freshly brewed invisibility potions, so all Phil and Fundy could see were the bubbles swirling around him. “I’d love to have you tell me how bad of a person I was, but I- I really have to go, Fundy. I- I’m very sorry, a-and I don’t know why people are telling me you’re getting adopted today, but I’m sure it will make sense, and I’m sure it’s nothing bad, and everything’s happy. Everything’s fine.” He walked out the door to begin aimlessly wandering about New L’Manburg, leaving Fundy and Phil in a tense silence. 

Tubbo, who’d been eavesdropping from outside, suddenly barged in. “That went well!”

Fundy turned to his grandfather. “Phil, what do I do now?”

“I can adopt you!” Tubbo interjected, which prompted Phil to shove him out the door. “I probably deserved that.” The president said as he walked back to his house. 

Now that he and Fundy were finally alone, Phil told him that he was there for him if he ever needed anything. He didn’t need Eret to adopt him to have a father-figure; he already had two. One was standing right in front of him, and the other was just trying his best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for our protagonist being a dumbass once again ;)


	4. The One Where the Protagonist Turns Out to be a Dumbass Again (The Long Awaited Sequel!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Whatever anyone tells you, it wasn’t me!” Tommy blurted as he reached the men.
> 
> This sentence caused an eruption of accusatory screaming and yelling. 
> 
> “Everyone shut up!” Tubbo finally yelled. “Tommy, if you have something to do with this, you will be facing the consequences.”

As the weeks went on in New L’Manburg, Tubbo felt his smile begin to fade and the spark in his eyes dissipated. Being president wasn’t all that he thought it would be. He had countless sleepless nights, tossing and turning his bed while the image of Technoblade shooting him played on repeat in his head.

_ I’ll try to make this as painless and as colorful as possible _ , Techno had told him. It was painful, though. It was the type of pain that would take years to go away entirely. 

Tommy was still grieving over the death of his brother. Sure, Wilbur was there as a ghost, but he was only a shell of the person he once was. Tommy started acting out, stealing from people, and griefing their homes with stupid signs and posters. Nothing too bad. He took things too far, though, when he set his next target at George, the new King of the Dream SMP. 

Tommy got his new friend, Ranboo, to help him out with his new pursuit. Ranboo was half endermen, making him very tall and skinny, taller than Wilbur even. He had glowing eyes, one green, and the other red. There was a line dividing his face into a black side and a white side, which went down his entire body, even making his hair different colors. He always wore a crown and a black suit with a red tie, like a weird mix between Technoblade and Jschlatt. He was a well-mannered guy with a deep, silky voice, making it hard for people to believe he wasn’t even eighteen yet. 

“Have you ever been robbed before?” Tommy asked him.

“I have, actually! Karl stole one of my golden apples the other day.”

“Was it traumatic?”

“Not really.”

“Good, good. Now channel that trauma.”

Ranboo squinted. “Um... okay.”

While Tommy and Ranboo formed their plan, Niki was getting ready for a date. She’d dyed her hair a bright pink the day before, ridding the old white streaks that contrasted her dark hair. No one had told her about what happened to Wilbur. She thought he was still alive somewhere with Technoblade; that he’d blown up everything he’d ever worked for and left. She had decided it was time for her to move on and asked a girl named Puffy out on a date. They planned on building a flower shop together to replace her old bakery.

Tommy and Ranboo tried to sneak past the two girls to get to George’s house, but they saw them anyway. When they asked what they were doing wearing all black and hoods at night, they came up with a stupid lie on the spot and hurried away. 

The two of them stole some of George’s belongings and put down vulgar signs as usual, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. Tommy thought it would be funny if they set a small fire in the center of the house, but it quickly got out of control, and soon the entire house was engulfed in flames.

Ranboo and Tommy ran out, and as they walked back home, they promised never to tell anyone what they did. If anyone asked, play dumb. Everything was well, but they needed an alibi, so they crashed Niki’s and Puffy’s date to build the flower shop with them. They made a few questionable exterior design choices, which the girls quickly scrapped, and went on their way. 

Tommy woke up the next morning thinking everything was normal; that he’d gotten away with the robbery and accidental arson, but then he stepped outside his house. Massive obsidian walls loomed over the nation. They weren’t built to protect this time. They were built to keep everyone in. 

Tommy ran to the Town Square where the rest of the cabinet members were talking, presumably about the walls. It was still early in the morning, for Tommy at least, and most of them were only half-dressed. Tubbo wore only his undershirt, and Quackity and Fundy both had their pajama pants on.

“Whatever anyone tells you, it wasn’t me!” Tommy blurted as he reached the men.

This sentence caused an eruption of accusatory screaming and yelling. 

“Everyone shut up!” Tubbo finally yelled. “Tommy, if you have something to do with this, you will be facing the consequences.”

“Why does everyone keep blaming me?! What would I have even done to cause this, huh?”

“That’s my question exactly!”

“Tubbo, listen to me, there is a prime suspect right there!” Tommy pointed to Niki, who was sitting on her stoop with a blanket around her shoulders, sipping on a hot cup of coffee with a fox curled up next to her. It was the fox Wilbur had given her before the war. She wasn’t entirely sure how it made its way to L’Manburg, but she’d stepped out one evening to see it sat by her doorstep next to a piece of blue dye. 

“Niki?!” The rest of the men yelled.

“Ohhhh yeah, she’s been causing some trouble.” 

“Tommy, what have you been doing the past few days?” Quackity asked calmly.

“Does this look like something I would do?”

The three men nodded in sync, and Tommy threw his arms up into the air in exasperation. 

“Tommy, you have been radio silent since I became president.”

“Yeah, but does this sound like something I would do?”

The conversation continued back and forth like that until Karl and George caught Tommy’s eye from a distance. He quickly ran over to them even though his friends were yelling after him.

“Fellas, what happened?” He asked innocently. “Fellas, I reckon it was Niki.”

“I reckon it was you!” George snapped back. His white clout goggles had been pushed up so they were resting on his head, revealing a flicker of anger in his dark eyes. 

“I think she’s sus. Ranboo agrees with me.”

George rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Niki definitely burned down my house,” he said sarcastically.

The cabinet members stood confused until they realized what was happening.

“Wait, is that what this is about, Tommy?!” Quackity shouted. “You burned down George’s house?”

Tubbo sighed and dragged Tommy into the Camarvan for a meeting.

_ Play dumb,  _ Tommy thought to himself as Tubbo, Fundy, and Quackity gave him annoyed glances. “Tubbo, why don’t you address the elephant in the room.”

Tubbo cleared his throat. “Dream has built walls around L’Manburg, which is obviously not okay, and he’s saying that all treaties are void considering we overthrew the government that signed them. However, I don’t think this was done without a motive.” He turned to look at Tommy, who was staring up at the ceiling, avoiding all eye contact. “I think someone in this room has done something.”

“Okay, let’s all go one by one and name all the things we have done in the past few days that might have aggravated Dream,” Quackity proposed. “Tubbo?”

“I built a panic room in case of a worst-case scenario, but I don’t see how that would upset him.”

“I punched him,” Quackity admitted. “But that was after he built the wall.”

“I would never hurt Dream,” Fundy gushed thinking about his muscles and sandy-blonde hair. What he would give to comb his hand through it. To take his smiley mask off and--

“Tommy? What about you?”

Everyone stared at the boy as he focused his attention from the ceiling back to the room. “I... have been me,” he said decidedly. 

“Guilty!” Tubbo joked.

“Tubbo,” Tommy leaned in close, “look into my eyes. Does this look like the eyes of a guilty man?”

“I’m gonna be honest,” Tubbo said as he looked into Tommy’s blue eyes. “Tommy, this has your name written all over it.” The other men agreed. 

“Trust me, trust me, trust me. This was not me. I’m mature! I’m friends with James Charles now, and Ariana Grande... one day.”

Tubbo squinted. Tommy always went off on weird tangents when he was hiding something. 

“You know, it’s really such a shame that George’s house burned down,” Tommy continued rambling. “It was a really nice house. I heard he built it when we were all fighting that war! I reckon it was the girl. Not because she’s a woman, but because she’s suspicious.”

“How is she suspicious?!” Fundy objected.

“Okay, guys, listen,” Tommy hushed his voice. “I was with Ranboo last night, that new fella, and we were walking down the street, and we saw her. We saw her being sus.”

“She was on a date with Puffy! They were making a flower shop!”

Tubbo proposed that they speak with Dream later that day, so they all had time to get appropriately dressed. A couple of hours later, they met him outside the walls that caged them in and agreed to let Tubbo do the talking. 

“Hello, Dream,” Tubbo said formally, wearing his blue suit and neat red tie. “I think we should address the elephant in the room, which is, of course, these big black walls L’Manburg. I was just wondering if there was any motive or-”

“Oh!” Dream interrupted. “I was just trying to be helpful. He smiled innocently under his mask.

Tubbo let out a light chuckle. “I don’t see how this is helping in any way.”

“You see, we signed treaties a while ago.”

“Yeah...”

“And then, your country held a  _ democratic  _ election, and elected Schlatt, and then forces came in and raided the country, took it over, tried to kill the president, and took over the land. To me, those treaties mean nothing. You are a new government.”

“Okay...”

“Now, I didn’t really care about this,” Dream pointed at Tommy, “Until  _ he  _ burned down the home of our King!”

Tommy pushed past Tubbo. “Evidence, bitch! This doesn’t sound like something I would do.”

“Listen,” Dream continued. “I want Tommy  _ punished _ for what he’s done.”

“Are you insane, bitch?!”

Dream ignored the child yelling in his face. “If nothing is done, the walls will expand, and more will happen. Tommy can’t be going around stealing from people and blowing up their houses.”

“Tommy, you’re the vice president!” Quackity grunted and put his head in his hands. 

Tommy started pacing around in circles. “You’re not gonna punish me because I didn’t do shit. I know I didn’t because I’m me. I’m angrily pacing now.”

“Tommy, stop pacing and answer me this one question. Did you burn down George’s house?”

“No.” He lied. 

Tommy didn’t know how he was going to get himself out of this. He’d messed up plenty of times before, but Wilbur was always there to save him when he did. Wilbur wasn’t there anymore, and Tommy was left alone to save himself. 

Dream slipped Tubbo away from the crowd of screaming people formed while Tommy ran off to find Niki and Ranboo. 

“Niki, I was with you the whole night last night, right? The  _ whole  _ night.”

“You were there, I can’t lie, you were there, but-”

Tommy turned to Quackity and Fundy as Tubbo and Dream walked back over. “Ha! My alibi! I ain’t the imposter, bitch!”

Just as he said that Tubbo and Dream walked back over to the crowd.

“Tommy!” the president butted in. “I need you to be quiet from now on. Big Q, Fundy, I need to speak with you for a moment.” 

The three of them walked away, and Tommy went over to Ranboo and Niki, who had no idea what was going on. 

_ If I get punished for this, I am going to lose my absolute shit,  _ he thought.  _ I should be allowed to rob anyone I want. That’s free rights! _

“Ranboo,” Tommy said in a hushed tone. “You know what we did last night.”

“Yeah, I-”

“You know what Niki did,” He interrupted.

“Me? I didn’t do anything, Tommy.” Niki responded defensively. 

Ranboo shook his head. “I don’t think Niki did anything.”

Tommy paused for a second. “Neither do I.” He was really hoping Ranboo would have played along with him on that. “Ranboo, come with me for a second.” He dragged his friend away.

“It was a perfect crime, and we got away with it.” 

“No, we didn’t...” Ranboo protested. 

“Listen, you son of a bitch, you vouch for me, okay? I’ll kill your family. I’ll kill them!”

Ranboo knew this was an empty threat. “Good luck with that.”

“Why?”

Ranboo stood in silence for a moment. 

“Okay, I’ll take it back. I won’t kill your family. I’ll protect them from any harm I said I would inflict on them! I’ll save your family, Ranboo! I’ll save them!”

“Good luck with that as well.”

Tommy blinked. He didn’t really understand his new friend. 

“Tommy,” Ranboo whispered. “I think the best thing to do is to just take the blame. Like maybe admit to the fact that we... kinda burnt down George’s house.”

Tommy rejected the plan quickly and thought for a moment. He decided it might be a good idea to fake cry to gain sympathy. He made a horrible attempt at doing so in front of Ranboo, who nodded back at him.

“Was that convincing?” Tommy wiped away his non-existent tears.

“Yeah, that was perfect.” His friend assured.

The two of them met back up with the Cabinet and Dream at the borders.

“Tommy,” The president started. “We are going to do everything in our power to keep you safe.”

Tommy let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Tubbo.” He knew he could count on his friend.

“But I do need you to come with us.” He reluctantly pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put them on the Vice President. “We’re going to the courthouse.”

“Why am I going to court!” Tommy protested as all of them began walking to the courthouse. “I ain’t going back to prison! I’m innocent.”

“Well, if you’re so innocent, prove it in court then,” Fundy responded coldly.

When they arrived, Tubbo tried to place his best friend in the cell. The same cell Tommy was in all those years ago. He protested, saying he didn’t deserve to be there.

“Tommy,” Tubbo said in a hushed but stern tone. “I am trying to help you.”

After a few moments, Tommy defeatedly stepped into the cell. He glanced over at the levers on the wall and then the lava bubbling beneath him through the glass floor. He gulped. If the right lever was pushed, he would fall in and die, and he didn’t want to tell anyone, but he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to come back this time. 

The trial was to be the next morning. Tommy laid down on the rock-hard mattress in the corner of the cell and tried his best to fall asleep, but instead, he stared at the stone ceiling all night, worrying about what would happen the next morning. He fucked up bad this time.

Tubbo woke up early to see his friend before the trial. He hadn’t been able to sleep either. His conversation with Dream kept replaying in his head. 

“I really hope we can resolve this peacefully,” The president had said to the masked man.

“I do too,” he’d responded. “But Tommy isn’t peaceful, and as long as he is Vice President, there can’t be peace.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“I suggest you exile Tommy.” He responded point-blank.

The words rang over and over again in his ears.  _ Exile Tommy. _ He and Quackity and Fundy decided they would try and put Tommy on some sort of probation to see if that would appease Dream, but they weren’t sure it would. Dream was always thinking two steps ahead. When he made his mind on something, he was willing to do anything in his power to make it happen.

Tubbo carefully walked over to Tommy in his cell, sitting with his elbows resting on his knees and his leg bouncing up and down. He looked up at him as he stepped toward the bars and gave him a stern look.

“Tommy, I’m on your side here.”

Tommy stood up and grabbed the bars. “Then get me out of this fucking box!” He snapped. He scurried around his cell, rambling on about how unfair all of this was. “I have rights! I’m a human, bitch! I’m a human!”

“Tommy!” 

Tommy flinched and stopped in his tracks. It wasn’t often Tubbo raised his voice, especially at him.

“Tommy, when you supposedly burned down George’s house, you voided all those rights, so shut up. We’re going to sort this out, okay?” 

The president took his place on the podium as the people filed into their seats. Everyone was there except for Dream. Ranboo mouthed to Tommy to comply, but Tommy shook his head at him. If there was one thing Tommy wasn’t, it was obedient.

Fundy walked over to the wall lined with levers and carefully hovered his hand over the first one. The trial was about to begin.

Tubbo cleared his throat. “I have been told that Dream and George have sufficient evidence that the accussee, Tommyinnt, has committed arson-”

“Listen to me, you mother fuckers!” Tommy interrupted. “Tubbo, even if it was me, which it wasn’t, how do we know George even saw it. His eyes are faulty. He’s colorblind!”

“Is that a lever moment?” Fundy asked the president, who nodded his head. The fox pulled the first lever, and everyone held their breath, but it did nothing. They continued on.

“George,” Tubbo turned to look at the King. “Tell your side of the story.”

“Well, I woke up the other day, and I have people swarming me telling me my new house was burned down. I thought they were trolling me, there’s no way someone burned down  _ my _ vacation home, but I go and check it out anyway. Lo and behold, it’s burned down, so I checked out the security footage.” Tommy sucked in his breath.  _ Oh shit,  _ he thought. “And I knew it could only be Tommy and one other person.” George turned his head slowly to face Ranboo. 

Tubbo shook his head and placed the other culprit in the cell opposite of Tommy. 

“Tubbo,” Tommy spoke. “I have witnesses.” He turned to face Niki in her seat. “I was with you and Puffy that night, right?”

Niki hesitated for a moment as everyone turned to look at her, and she nodded her head slightly.

It was time for Ranboo to state his case.

“Before we start,” he said. “I have terrible short-term memory loss.” He admitted, and Tommy let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to take someone down with him. “I don’t know exactly where it’s from. I can’t remember.”

Tubbo shook his head and motioned toward Fundy to flip another lever. “Tommy, Ranboo not remembering really isn’t making you look any better.” There were two levers left. “Tommy,” Tubbo continued, “I need you to tell your side, and I need you to not yell.”

“Tubbo,” Tommy started as he looked back down at the lava. “It was the perfect crime!” He let a devilish smile creep onto his face. “And no one saw me! And I would have gotten away with it!”

Tubbo sighed and rubbed his temples. “Tommy...”

“But hear me out! George targeting me isn’t fair, and Dream retaliating by building those walls is absurd! I didn’t mean to burn down the house. I just meant to rob him. I’m a robber! But things got outta hand...” His voice trailed off when he saw Tubbo step off the podium to flip the next lever himself. There was only one left. “I have human rights, so let me out!” Tommy knew that his plan of begging wouldn’t work, but he was giving it a shot anyway.

“Tommy,” Tubbo said earnestly as he made eye contact with his friend through the metal bars. “I have been advised to banish you.”

Tommy shook his head in disbelief. “What the fuck? What the absolute fuck? It was a silly little prank gone wrong, and no one got hurt! George is just a little pussy!”

“However,” the president continued over the noise of murmuring voices. “That is a very drastic measure, and we hope to appease both parties by-”

“By freeing me!”

“By putting you on probation. Tommy, you will be stripped of your power, and everything you do must be reported back to Fundy.”

The fox couldn’t help but chuckle. The thought of his uncle having to report back to him was hilarious. Everyone else in the courtroom snickered as well, except for Tubbo. 

“Are you kidding me!?” Tommy protested.

“Tommy, for the next few weeks, you will be on probation-”

“I don’t know what that word means.”

“I literally just explained it to you.”

“Yeah? Well, I wasn’t listening, bitch!” Tommy joked.

“This is your last chance.” Tubbo didn’t even crack a smile. He just looked at his friend with a serious expression. The words he was about to say pained him, “Or else you’ll be exiled.” 

“This is insane! There’s fucking walls around our home, bro!” 

“Yeah, and I’m hoping this will be a satisfying enough conclusion to have them torn down.”

“Why are there walls in the first place? It was a silly little prank!”

“George is the king of the Dream SMP. This is considered... this is considered treason.”

“Shouldn’t Dream be arrested too? He griefed out home!”

“No, because your crime was unprovoked, Tommy.”

“It wasn’t unprovoked!” Tommy felt tears burning in the back of his nose as he gestured towards George. “This guy went to war against us! He helped blow up our home! He killed me! He’s also colorblind!”

Tubbo ignored everything he said. “Tommy, you are on probation for the next two weeks.” He reached over to pull the final lever, and the floor banished beneath Tommy. Before he could fall into the lava, he pulled out a bucket of water and splashed it down, turning the lava into obsidian. He wasn’t going to die this way. 

“Tubbo, what the fuck?! You tried to set me on fire!” Tommy clumsily climbed out of the hole and walked over to Tubbo. “Fuck you,” he told him with a sour tone. 

“You put our country in jeopardy, Tommy.”

Tommy shook his head. “When I made Wilbur the president, I put L’Manburg into safe hands. I knew that even though he had been unstable, L’Manburg would be safe, but then, he chose you as president. I didn’t choose for you to be in charge, but I was happy for you. Why would you punish me?” Tommy would never admit it, but he was jealous of his friend. He didn’t want him to be president; he wanted him to help him get his discs back. He knew it was selfish of him, but he couldn’t help it. It’s been their quest since the beginning.

“You’re the vice president, Tommy. Your actions reflect our country,” he responded coldly. “Let’s go speak to Dream.”

After Tommy and Niki insisted Ranboo had nothing to do with the crime, he was set free, and Tubbo, Quackity, and Fundy escorted Tommy to meet Dream. When they reached him, he was leaning against the black walls with his arms crossed. Tubbo took a shaky breath and gave Dream the rundown of what happened during the trial. Dream didn’t say a word until he was finished.

“Probation isn’t enough,” the masked man said at last.

Tubbo was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Tommy is Tommy. He’s never gonna stop. His only goal is to piss me off whether he has power or not.”

“Then what else do you suggest?” Quackity protested.

Dream thought for a moment. “I’ll give you three days to think. If you come back and say the same thing, then I have some things to say. If you change your mind, which I suggest you do, then we can talk.”

Tommy watched in shock as all his friends agreed with Dream. “Can I just say one thing?” He asked.

“Tommy, you’ve done enough damage today,” Tubbo told him.

“Just listen to me!” Tommy took a second to compose himself. “Think of all the times Dream has fucked us over. He’s taunted us, killed us, blown up our country. He’s been a dickhead to us! I do one thing, and I get punished?”

“If you don’t want to exile him, that’s fine,” Dream said to Tubbo. “Give me the disc.”

“What?” Tommy’s heart sank. Back when Tubbo was elected president, Dream gave Tubbo one of the discs for leverage but warned him not to tell anyone. Tubbo didn’t think he would need it; he didn’t think he would ever have to use it to control his friend, but he took it anyway, just in case. 

“Tommy, I suggest you stay quiet,” Tubbo’s voice was softer than it was before. “There is one difference between you and Dream. Dream can go around and kill people all he wants because he’s not the vice president, you are. Your actions have consequences.”

Tubbo set a date for a meeting with Dream, where he promised to sort everything out. He tried to rest a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, but he swatted his hand away.  
Tommy shook his head and choked back tears. “I’m sorry this is all just a bit much,” he said as he backed away. He’d spent long enough putting L’Manburg first. Now that it was in safe hands, the villains were gone, he wanted to finally focus on the discs. L'Manburg started with the discs, and it will end with the discs. “Don’t let the real Wilbur down, Tubbo,” he said before he ran home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed a way to have one of the discs in Tubbo's hands without retconning too much, so I hope you don't mind me changing the plot too much. The disc saga is very confusing, lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first lore-based chapter.


	5. This Isn’t How it was Meant to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You fucked up this time.”
> 
> Tommy’s smile dropped and he inched back as Dream stepped toward him.
> 
> “I don’t a fuck about spirit,” he continued. “I don’t give a fuck about anything, actually. I care about your discs. I care more about your discs than you do! That’s the only thing I care about in this world! I care about your discs because that’s what gives me power over you, your friends, and everyone you care about, so if you are not exiled, I will build these walls until the reaching the fucking clouds! I will keep everybody inside, I will hire guards to patrol all around the walls. No trade, no leaving, no armor, or they get slaughtered! Don’t try and threaten me! I don’t care. I have lost all care for anything.”

Tommy got out of bed after a long, restless night prepared for the meeting with Dream after the longest two weeks of his life. He hadn’t spoken to Tubbo since the night of the trial, but he got ready, putting on his lucky red and white baseball-tee and a green bandana around his neck, and went to meet him, Quackity and Fundy. He understood why everyone was so mad

, but he still refused to apologize. He only apologized if he was wrong or stupid, and he decided he was neither of the two. 

As Tommy walked to the Camaravn he noticed that the walls had grown taller, and he saw Connor standing in front of his house.

“Hi, Landlord!” 

“Yeah,” Tommy replied. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation. He continued on, and Connor followed behind him.

When Tommy walked into the van, the conversation his friends were having halted and they all turned to him and Connor.

“Who the hell is that?” Quackity asked. 

“I just wanted to get involved in local politics,” Connor smiled politely. 

The men were confused, but they moved on.

“Remind me why we’re all here again?” Tommy pestered. 

“You know exactly why, Tommy,” Tubbo responded, annoyed.

“Oh yeah! The whole arson thing!”

“Yeah, about the whole burning George’s house thing!” Fundy affirmed.

“It wasn’t wrong.”

“It was funny, but it was wrong,” Quackity murmured, and Tommy chuckled. 

“Tommy,” said Tubbo. “You need to be on your best behavior today. You can be exiled today and we don’t want that, okay?”

“You’re not gonna fucking exile me, bro.”

Tubbo let out a harsh sigh. “What did I just say?” Tubbo took a moment to compose himself and continued, “So it will be us four, Ranboo, Dream, and Connor, apparently.”

“Is no one else confused why he’s here?” Tommy asked.

“I am confused,” Tubbo couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“He just wants to feel included,” Fundy joked, and Connor nodded.

“Okay so,” Tubbo tried to get everyone back on track. “Tommy, you have to be on your best behavior. You have to agree to everything Dream says, you have to be nice, you have to be sorry, and respectful, and hopefully, he’ll agree that the probation is enough, and we can walk out of there happy.”

“I’m always happy.” Tommy made a fake, exaggerated smile.

“We have to do what is best for the nation, everyone, and that is resolving this peacefully.”

As the cabinet meeting went on, Tommy rambled on about topics like climate change and wing-manning, like he usually did when he was nervous.

“Tommy,” Tubbo interrupted his tangent. “I think it’s best if you do minimal speaking.”

It was time for them to walk to the meeting place with Dream, and as they did, Tommy thought about the absurdity of the situation. Tubbo was supposed to be his best friend. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t even consider exiling him.

“Don’t fuck this up,” Quackity warned Tommy before they walked into the meeting room.

“I hate to break it to you all, but you know I’m not just gonna stay quiet.”

“Okay, well if you do wanna speak, be apologetic and polite for me, please,” Tubbo said in a forced positive tone.

“That’s not how I operate. I’m just addressing the elephant in the room, which is me, although I’m not the size of an elephant- in height, I am but not in width, I’m not wide. If I was wide, we probably would be in the situation would we?” Tommy could feel the sleep deprivation getting to him.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Fundy yelled. “Stop changing the subject!”

“This is ridiculous,” Tubbo said under his breath as he opened the door. 

Dream was sitting at the head of the table, leaned back in his chair.

“Hiya!” Tommy said enthusiastically before sitting down. 

“Hello,” Dream replied. “Do you have a book and quill?”

“We need the minute-man!” Tubbo announced. Him, Fundy, and Quackity shouted for the minute-man as Tommy watched in confusion. Suddenly, Ranboo appeared in the seat next to Tubbo, a book and quill ready in his hand. 

“What the hell?!” No one had briefed Tommy on this beforehand.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Fundy.

Tommy struggled not to lash out as Tubbo officially started the meeting.

“Is there anything you want to address?” The president asked Dream.

“Yeah, well, I told you before that I want Tommy exiled. I told you you have two weeks to think about it, and then we would have this meeting.”

Tommy made faces at Dream as he spoke.

“Okay, well, I’m just trying to think of any other alternative here. I wanna do some bargaining if you will.”

Dream entertained the idea for a moment. “What’s your proposition? I mean, I’ve put a lot of effort into building and maintaining those walls, and I don’t know if you've noticed, but they’ve actually doubled in size since we last spoke.” 

“I did notice, and I’m pissed off,” Quackity said.

“I even have eight more stacks of obsidian to make the walls even higher,” Dream added.

“I really want this to come to a peaceful resolution,” Tubbo continued, “where we don’t have to exile anyone. We want the best for the country-”

Dream leaned forward in his chair. “But you’re considering it,” he interrupted.

“It’s an option on the table,” Tubbo admitted. Tommy felt like his head was about to explode, but he bit his tongue.

“I think what the president is trying to say here is that Tommy has been on his best behavior, and he’s done his reports, and he’s bettered a lot, and I think we’re all willing to compromise.” Quackity tried his best to defend his friend. 

Dream was growing impatient. “So what’s the proposition?” He asked again.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Tubbo started. “Tommy remains on probation, which I know would suck for you, Dream, I see how that could be bad-”

“How long would he be on probation?” Dream interrupted again.

“At least two more weeks.”

Tommy let out a loud groan and put his head in his hands.

“While Tommy is on probation,” the president continued, “I propose the walls can stay, possibly not grow, but they can stay, and if Tommy so much as breaths in your direction, they grow.”

“Can I just say something?” Tommy butted in. “I have a couple of constructive criticisms. Look at me staying calm like a- like a power moth. Like a power moth with knives attached to it,” everyone in the room squinted at him in confusion. “Dream is taunting us, he’s interrupting us, he’s- what’s a nice way to put this? He’s being a bitch!”

“Tommy!” Tubbo scolded.

“It’s okay, Tubbo,” Dream remarked. “I kind of like your idea, so he’s on probation for three weeks. If he does anything, if he destroys anything, he calls someone a mean name, anything bad, his probation extends and the walls get taller. If he behaves well, then the walls come down.”

All the faces in the room lit up as they agreed with the terms Dream put forth, except for Tommy, who rolled his eyes. Ranboo handed Tubbo the book and quill, and everyone watched as he struggled to write the contract. 

“I don’t know why you chose me to write this, I’m dyslexic,” he admitted. He eventually finished writing after a few painful minutes and handed the document, riddled with spelling errors, to Dream for him to sign. Everyone in the room relaxed when the document was signed, but the peace was ruined by Tommy, who stood up suddenly.

“That was easy!” He exclaimed. During the meeting, Tommy had been forming a plan. “Does anyone have an ender chest?” Dream placed one down and Tommy chuckled. “Even with no sleep, I am a mastermind among men! I am like the modern-day Albert Einstein!”

“Tommy,” Tubbo cautioned. “You have to stay calm.

“No, Tubbo.” He stood on the table. “You have one of my discs, correct?” 

“I gave it to someone for safe-keeping,” Dream admitted.

Tommy laughed. “So you have zero. Dream you fucking idiot! You know nothing. You go around thinking you’re the shit, and this isn’t me going crazy. I’m not going down Wilbur’s path, but,” he chuckled, “I’m not getting exiled because you have  _ nothing  _ of mine, but Dream,” he jumped off the table and stood in front of his enemy. “A long time ago, I got something of yours. Dream, are you familiar with your old pet horse? Do you remember? What was its name, Dream?”

“Spirit.”

“Months ago, I retrieved Spirit’s remains, an item that means so much to you.” He walked over to the ender chest sitting in the corner and pulled out a piece of leather. “I’ve been holding onto this for so long. Everyone thinks that you’ve got this high ground, that you’re this madman, but you don’t have anything! You’re just some guy wearing a smiley-face mask and netherite armor! You don’t have anything on us anymore.”

“Tommy, you’re speaking out of line,” Tubbo warned. “Dream has the power to destroy our nation. You’re being selfish.”

Tommy shook his head. “I know you all think I’m being naive, but Dream has nothing on us if he doesn’t have the discs.”

Dream stepped forward. “What if I get them, Tommy.” 

“Then I’ll burn spirit. You’re not in any position here to be in charge of us.”

Quackity and Fundy both gasped when they realized what Tommy was saying, and stood up to stand behind him. Tubbo remained seated with his arms crossed and furrowed brows.

“So what do you want then?” Dream’s face was bright red under his mask.

“Tell him, Tommy,” Quackity whispered.

“Dream, you’re gonna take down those walls,” Tommy said confidently, and Quackity and Fundy cheered. 

They began walking to the walls, Tubbo several paces behind them.

“This is a terrible idea,” he muttered. Dream always had a trick up his sleeve, and his friends were ignorant to think Dream would comply with them. Much to his surprise, however, Dream began tearing down the walls, block by block as Tommy, Fundy, and Quackity laughed at him. Tubbo still had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. 

“Chop chop!” Quackity mocked.

Tubbo shook his head. “This was meant to be a new era, but this just feels like history repeating itself.”

“He has nothing on us, Tubbo!” Fundy remarked. 

“This isn’t history repeating itself,” Tommy added, “because now  _ we  _ have something on  _ him. _ ”

They turned back to watch Dream hacking away at the black and purple stone. They saw him pause for a moment, then he suddenly placed the blocks back and jumped down.

“Tommy,” he said ominously.

“Hello!”

“You fucked up this time.”

Tommy’s smile dropped and he inched back as Dream stepped toward him.

“I don’t a  _ fuck  _ about spirit,” he continued. “I don’t give a fuck about anything, actually. I care about your discs. I care more about your discs than you do! That’s the only thing I care about in this world! I care about your discs because that’s what gives me power over you, your friends, and everyone you care about, so if you are not exiled, I will build these walls until the reaching the fucking clouds! I will keep everybody inside, I will hire guards to patrol all around the walls. No trade, no leaving, no armor, or they get slaughtered! Don’t try and threaten me! I don’t care. I have lost all care for anything.”

Tommy took a shaky breath. “So if I burn Spirit right now-”

“Burn Spirit right now!” Dream yelled. “I will get your discs, I will keep them in my ender chest, and I will keep them until the day I die.” 

Dream gave Tubbo three days to exile Tommy, or his reign of terror would commence.

“Tommy, you had one job,” Tubbo hissed when Dream left. “You had one job: to be positive, to be peaceful, and you messed it up.”

“You fucked up,” Quackity said. “You really fucked up this time, Tommy.”

The president turned to Fundy and Quackity. “This is on you two as well!”

Tommy stared at the walls as his friends bickered. Every time he tried to be the hero he just made things ten times worse. He tried to think of something Wilbur would do, but his head hurt trying to differentiate his brother from the one he grew up with, the one who went mad, and the  _ Casper the Friendly Ghost _ rip-off.

“Tubbo,” he said at last. “He’s only doing this to get under your skin so you turn on me. You can’t turn on us now!” He tried to step closer to his friend, but there was a small crater they had yet to patch over that was dividing them.

“I actually think he made it very clear that what he wants is your discs” He sighed and shook his head. “You couldn’t do one thing for me! Just one thing, and it was for your own good!” His yelling changed to a heartbreaking pleading tone. “If the roles were reversed, no, you wouldn’t exile me because I would have actually listened to you, and maybe have a couple ounces of respect! You’re selfish.” Tommy had let his eyes wander, but he snapped his head to face Tubbo when he said the last sentence.  _ You’re selfish.  _ It replayed in his head over and over again. __

“Tubbo...” Tommy’s voice trailed off.

“I don't want to exile you!”

“Tubbo, before the war, before L’Manburg, it was me and you versus Dream. This can’t be where we split! It’s always been me and you against the world! This whole thing, the power, it’s gotten to your head. I know you’re president now. I know I wanted Wilbur to be president, and I’m happy for you, but this isn’t what we were meant to do! It’s always been about getting back the discs! That’s what we started fighting for! There have been too many times where I put them to the side: when L’Manburg was blown up the first time, when Dream killed me, when Wilbur and I fought for our country back, but now you can handle this!”

“Yeah, we could have handled this, if you had listened.”

“Tubbo,” Ranboo said. He’d seemed to appear out of nowhere. “You said that Tubbo is selfish. That’s not true. I robbed George’s house too. I did it with Tommy, but in court, he said it was just him. He could’ve pinned the blame on me, but he didn’t. He’s not selfish. Tommy and I robbed George’s house, but we didn’t mean for it to burn.”

“Tommy, is this true?” Tubbo asked.

“Yeah, yeah it is,” he replied passive-aggressively. “I put the discs first for once after Wilbur and Schlatt are gone- Tubbo, you can’t turn into what you hate. You can’t be the next Schlatt. If you exile me, you’re following in that man’s footsteps.”

“As long as I can’t be the next Schlatt, you can’t be the next Wilbur.”

Tommy stood and watched as his friends decided on his fate. “This isn’t how it was meant to go. How can you not see the only thing Dream wants is the one thing I care about!” He froze when he realized what he’d said. “Not the one thing,” he corrected.

“The one thing you care about,” Tubbo repeated coldly.

Eventually, everyone split up to go home, but Tommy took Ranboo to his and Tubbo’s bench. When they were walking to it, Tommy swore he saw a man with a pig mask in the corner of his eye, but when he turned to check there was no one there.

“I just want back the discs,” Tommy mumbled as he and Ranboo watched the sunset. “Every time I’ve sat on this bench, it’s been what I wanted.”

“I can tell.”

“Thank you for sticking up for me today. No one else did. You saw Big Q and Fundy just trying to be on the winning side.”

“Well you stuck up for me first. It was the least I could do.”

One line kept running through Tommy’s head as they spoke.  _ Let’s be the villains,  _ Wilbur had said to him. He didn’t want to be the villain though. He didn’t want Tubbo to be president. He wanted him to help get the discs back. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help it. It had been their quest since the beginning. More than anything though, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before Wilbur let his paranoia get the best of him. When L’Manburg was a new, independent nation. When Wilbur would sing songs to everyone like their father did when they were young. When the only thing Tommy had to worry about was building his signature cobblestone towers. 

“Ranboo, there's a reason I didn’t choose Tubbo to be the president. I could have chosen anyone, but I chose Wilbur, the man who was already half-insane, but I thought he was coming back around, and I didn’t choose Tubbo. I knew that if Tubbo was the president it would pull us apart. Now, look at him. He’s picking his nation over me, and if he chooses to exile me, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself.”

“No matter what happens in three days, I’ll help. I’ll figure something out.”

They sat and watched the sunset for a little longer, and Tommy’s mind began to wander. He recalled the first time he ever met Tubbo. It was when he was maybe five or six. Tommy and his brothers were going on their daily walk with their father when they saw something moving in a box on the side of the road. When they walked over to inspect it, they expected it to be a dog or a cat, but instead, they saw a little boy staring up at them, clinging onto a bee plushie. Phil asked him where his parents were, and he responded that his dad left to go get something and that he was told to wait there. Phil looked over to the side of the box where someone had written in black sharpie,  _ Please take care of my son, Toby. _

“Are you Toby?” He asked.

The boy nodded his head. “My dad calls me Tubbo.”

Phil took him home to clean him up and give him food. He was planning on taking him to an orphanage the next day, but Tommy had taken a liking to the boy and begged his father to let him stay. After hours of begging, Phil finally agreed, and Tommy and Tubbo were attached by the hip ever since. Tubbo didn’t remember much about his life before that, just the smell of cigarettes and cheap alcohol, and his father's old beat up Yankees hat he would wear occasionally, even though it was way too big for him. He liked to think his dad left for a good reason; that his life was better off without him, but part of him still wished he could meet him one day. Maybe he had and he didn’t even know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dad Schlatt is canon in my mind I don't care.


	6. King George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream dethrones George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a short chapter. It didn't quite fit into the previous one so I decided to make it separate.

Dream fiddled with his mask as he walked to George’s castle. The white ceramic was cold and brittle against his calloused fingertips. He was always anxious without it on, but the cool breeze was refreshing on his flushed face, and he knew he needed to be unmasked for what he was about to do. 

When he arrived he looked up at the pride flags that remained from Eret’s rule. He heard a rustling from the bushes before he opened the heavy door, but when he turned around to look there was no one there. He figured it was just a bunny or something and marched into the castle.

His footsteps echoed on the marble floor as he marched into the throne room, where George was lounging on his throne, Sapnap standing next to him. They both tensed when they saw Dream standing in front of him; he had an unfamiliar, ominous look in his green eyes.

Dream silently admired George’s soft features before suddenly announcing he shouldn't be king anymore. 

“What?” George shot up from his throne.

“Well, it’s just a proposition,” Dream defended. “People are just trying to hurt you because you’re the king. Before that everyone left you alone.”

“Maybe you should have been there to protect me,” George snapped.

“Well,” Dream kept his tone calm, “I can’t be there for you all the time. I will just move your kingship to someone else.”

“To who?”

“I think I’ll probably talk to Eret. You’ll just be targeted if you’re the king, and you probably want to be able to get revenge on Tommy, right? We can do that together.”

“It sounds like you’re sugar-coating it.”

“I just think you’ll be safer. I don’t want you to get hurt. I care about you, George.”

Dream waited for a response, but George just shook his head and sank back into his chair. After a few awkward moments, Dream put his mask back on and went to Eret, who happily agreed to be throned once more.

When Quackity saw Dream walk away, he clumsily crawled out of the bush he was hiding in. He spits out a leaf before entering the castle.

“What the hell just happened?” Quackity asked.

“He hates me,” George replied in a distraught tone.

Subpoena explained to Quackity what Dream had just done, and they both went to comfort the old king. Quackity still held a grudge from all the times George slept through important events, but he put it aside. 

Sapnap thought back to the speech Dream gave just before they declared war on L’Manburg for the very first time.

_ Look, George everything the light touches is our kingdom. King's time as a ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, George, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you, as the new king. _

At the time, Sapnap didn’t question it, but looking back on it now, he realized he and George were just pawns in Dream’s game. He said he cared about them, and maybe he did at some point, when they first discovered the Dream SMP and built the Community House together, but certainly not now. Not since Tommy, the first person to ever disobey Dream arrived.


End file.
